Recipe- Juicy And Cheesy Crockpot Lasagna

Crockpot Lasagna is juicy, cheesy, beefy, and tastes just as good as a Classic Lasagna, but easier! There is no need to pre-cook noodles, you just add them raw and they cook up perfectly tender in the slow cooker. This is also a make-ahead lasagna that can be assembled a day ahead for convenient meals .

Slow cookers have been a little neglected with the popularity of Instant Pots and air fryers, but let’s not forget why we love them in the first place – you can set it and forget it until dinner time, so it’s ready when you are.

Ingredients

For the Meat Sauce

1 lb ground beef, (80/20 fat content)
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup red wine, or beef broth
32 oz marinara sauce
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
4 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped and divided

For The Chesse Sauce

15 oz reduced fat ricotta cheese
16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
1 large egg
1 lb mozzarella cheese, (4 cups shredded), divided

Assembling

9 lasagna noodles, uncooked, NOT “oven ready”
1/2 cup water

Method

* In a large deep pan over medium heat, combine ground beef and onion. Cook, breaking up meat with a spatula until no longer pink (5 min). Add garlic and sauté 1 to 2 mins. Add 1/4 cup red wine and simmer until nearly evaporated (5 min).

* Add 3 cups marinara, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp chopped parsley. Mix well, cover and simmer 5 min.:

* Make the cheese sauce: In a medium bowl, combine: 15 oz ricotta, 16 oz cottage cheese, 1 large egg, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 2 Tbsp parsley. Mix well.

* Lightly oil a 6 qt slow cooker. Spread 1 cup marinara sauce on the bottom then top with 3 noodles, breaking them to fit. Top with 1/3 of the Meat Sauce, sprinkle with 3/4 cup of your mozzarella cheese, then spread the top with 1/2 of your ricotta cheese mixture and repeat until you have 3 layers of noodles. Top the third layer of noodles with remaining meat sauce, 3/4 cup mozzarella and pour 1/2 cup water around the edges, allowing some of it to go down the side of the dish into lasagna.

* Cover and cook on LOW 3 1/2 to 4 hours** then top with reserved mozzarella, cover and cook 10 mins or until cheese melts. Let the lasagna rest 15 mins for easier serving.